I’m currently reading Never Check E-Mail in the Morning. At first, I balked at the idea of not checking my email in the morning. Well, of course I must see if something important came in during the night. Since I’m on the west coast, everyone else has been busy at least an hour or two before I get started. I wouldn’t want to miss anything. Right?

Not really. The idea behind this concept isn’t that you don’t check your email. It’s this: don’t check your email first thing. Go ahead and plan your day first. Figure out what items you need to work on. Is today a meal planning day? Laundry? Light cleaning? Deep cleaning? If you do outside work (but from home), what projects do you need to make progress on today in addition to household chores?

There’s so much to do, isn’t there?

If you plan your day before you open your email, you have an idea of what you need to do. And if some emergencies come up in those must-read emails, you can adjust. But if you already have your day planned out, you might not get sucked into a bunch of time-wasting emails. Instead, you can glance through, decide what you need to deal with today, mark the ones that can wait until tomorrow, and then get busy.

You’re immediately more in control of your day. (As much as any of us can be with kids around, right?) When I look at what I have scheduled that day, I know how much time I have to peruse blogs or emails. I don’t get behind by reading a bunch of emails and then realizing I had an appointment, or that I let time get away and I’m suddenly rushing to get everything done.

Give it a try. First thing in the morning, look at your calendar. Plan what you need to do that day. Then open your email and see if your priorities need to change. Then close the email and get to work.

Does checking email in the morning help you plan your day? Or do you immediately feel like you’re behind?